Deidra Lashley has been the Executive Director of Bethany House since 2013, bringing with her nearly 30 years of experience working with domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking survivors.

In 2005, Deidra was co-founder of the Cocoon Shelter, Wood County’s first and only domestic violence shelter. She then served as Associate Director and Special Projects Coordinator for 8 years.

Deidra previously worked as the Project Coordinator for the Victim Advocacy program housed at the Women’s Center of Bowling Green State University where she helped found the Northwest Ohio Silent Witness Project. Prior to that, in her role as Clinical Therapist at Unison Behavioral Health, Deidra provided home-based services to women victims of violence for many years.

Deidra obtained her B.A. in Social Work from the University of Toledo and has been a Licensed Social Worker since 1997. She also earned her Master of Public Health from the Northwest Ohio Consortium of Public Health in 2006.

Deidra’s work at Bethany House has focused on increasing access to long-term advocacy, housing, and support for survivors who experience aggravated vulnerabilities due to disabilities or intersectional victimization.